Take a new look at Springfield, Inc - firearms company
Springfield, Inc. is the new firm taking the place of the former Springfield Armory, and the different name marks greater change than just simple nomenclature.
Springfield, Inc. has narrowed its product line back to what company executives describe as their “core” products. These are the products that earned Springfield Armory such outstanding success in the 1980s — but more on the products in a moment, because there is other news about this reinvigorated firm as well.
Springfield, Inc. has set a firm and consistent pricing policy, and reduced the number of distributors handling its products from the previous 32 to a more manageable 17. These 17 distributors will be the only source for regular production Springfield products.
The Line Up
To market and distribute the Custom Shop products as well as their own factory-compensated and specialty pistols, Springfield, Inc. has created three different product groups.
The standard production 1911 pistols, the M-6 Scout sporting/survival rifles, and the legendary M-1A semi-auto target rifles, parts and accessories, comprise the first group and they are available exclusively from Springfield’s 17 authorized distributors.
The second group is available from both distributors and on a dealer-direct basis. The products in this group are the factory-produced comp-guns, parts and accessories.
Springfield, Inc. has found these products need special care and training to sell well, so they will still act as a “mid-wife” to provide the extra salesmanship and training needed to help the dealer and the customer understand the advantages found with a compensated handgun.
The Factory Comp, the Defender, the Champion Comp, and the Compact Comp pistols are available from both distributors and as dealer-direct items, but Springfield will sell to dealers at full dealer price with no volume discounts.
Springfield wants to help their distributors sell these pistols, and if none are available in a certain sales area for the interested dealer Springfield will provide the dealer with one from factory stock.
Including the factory comp-guns, Springfield, Inc. has 15 different models of the 1911 pistol to offer their clients, and this doesn’t include the different models available from the Springfield Custom Shop. The standard 1911 pistols are manufactured and assembled in Brazil. Company Co-Chairman Dennis Reese stated they have full-time personnel in Brazil, paid by Springfield, Inc., to supervise the assembly of these pistols. The final product is guaranteed to be as good as the ones they made in the USA.
The Custom Touch
The third product group is the line up from the Springfield Custom Shop. The Springfield Custom Shop still produces the match-winning Springfield custom guns and the Springfield Custom Shop specialty competition parts.
The Springfield Custom guns include both compensated and non-compensated pistols, but they are not regular production models. These are truly custom guns, and not something off the regular assembly line that is being sold at a marked up price.
The Custom Shop products are available only on a dealer-direct basis.
The Springfield P-9 is no more. Springfield, Inc. after long years of campaigning this design on the U.S.P.S.A. competition trail and after earning many victories, including a World Championship, terminated their business relationship with Tanfoglio of Italy. Springfield, however, has an ample supply of spare parts to maintain customer-owned P-9s.
Springfield is still manufacturing firearms in the United States. The M-1As, M-6s, and all the previously mentioned factory-compensated pistols are made in the United States at the Illinois facility.
Dealer Support
As an extra incentive for their customers, Springfield, Inc. is offering a consumer rebate of $25 starting April 1, 1993 through June 30, 1993 on any and all Springfield 1911 products. This rebate will be paid direct to the consumer after he supplies proof of purchase of a Springfield 1911 product during the offer period.
This consumer rebate is just a continuation of the dealer rebate that Springfield, Inc. ran between Jan. 1, 1993 and March 31, 1993.
New things from a new company. The name may have changed, but the main handgun product remains one of the most popular American pistols ever seen — the 1911 pistol. It’s available now from one of 17 authorized Springfield, Inc. distributors.